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Megan Smith's next move

This morning we published a joint exit interview with outgoing U.S. chief technology officer Megan Smith (ex-Google) and her deputy Alex Macgillivray (ex-Twitter), in which they discussed their experiences, legacies and the incoming administration. Two items that didn't make the post:

Smith hasn't yet decided on her next job, but it sounds like she's leaning against a return to the private sector. She says that she's become taken with public/advocacy service, particularly around issues of diversity.

Trump has not yet named anyone to the CTO role (which was created by Obama), nor to run the parent Office of Science and Technology. That said, both offices do have career civil servants who will remain in place, and Smith says her office has had conversations with the Trump transition. Unfortunately, our chat occurred before Trump named Reed Cordish (a real estate and restaurant developer) as Assistant to the President for Intragovernmental and Technology Initiatives. The transition team has not responded to requests for comment as to how Cordish's appointment will affect the CTO's office, nor why such an explicitly non-technical person was named to this role.